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1

RPGs / City Resources?

« on: August 01, 2009, 07:50:54 PM »

Since my fellow RPPR listeners were so helpful with my last problem I thought I'll come to you all again with another conundrum I'm having. In its most basic form this issue is really a simple case of the DM just getting what he asks for. My players have now reached a somewhat respectable level of power and prestige and have, as a group, latched on to the idea of planting some roots in a city. Using the majority of their saved gold and an impressive use of their combined abilities they have acquired a sizable complex in a major city and decided that they want to open a training school of sorts. Basically a place where they can teach others the skills they possess.

A PC Class school in essence. This is wonderful and all and I'm excited by the roleplaying avenues this opens up and that my players are willing to commit themselves to the setting this much and focus their efforts and income on more than just buying magic swords and slaughtering dragons. (They still want to do this too though, don't get me wrong they want to go adventure too sometimes).

The trouble I'm having is adjudicating the mechanical aspects of owning, operating and reaping a profit from their little enterprise. The players are intelligent and include a business major who sees this effort, at least in part, as an investment that will eventually turn a profit for the players. I understand this and don't want to punish my players for being creative with their efforts and money, but I can't for the life of me find any good rules in the books for running a business.

Does anyone know of any good sources, Offical or Fan-created, on running this aspect of urban roleplaying? I own cityscape and it has some interesting ideas on adventures centered around their business and how much it would cost to buy the property but nothing really on the day to day running.

2

RPGs / DM Help

« on: July 07, 2009, 01:19:11 AM »

So here's the situation.

System: Pathfinder RPG
Party: Human warblade (lvl 6), Elven Black Flame Zealot (lvl 6), Elven Wizard (lvl 5)
Homebrew World

So the party is adventuring through a blasted wasteland and encounters a Necromancer and his platoon of undead digging for relics. They watch for a bit and the Zealot and Warblade want to just bypass him and move on with their adventure but the Wizard wants to talk to him. A short curt conversation later has the Necromancer being a general stand offish jerk and the Warblade and Zealot decide to just walk on (assuming that the wizard will follow). The wizard does indeed follow for a bit but once he's a distance away he fires off a Fireball spell at the necromancer. The inital blast obliterates most of the undead but the necromancer, 2 Large Skeletons, and a T-Rex Skeleton survive and give chase. The Wizard and the Zealot drop down to negative HPs in a few rounds but manage to take out the 2 large skeletons and mostly escape the necromancer who leaves it up to his T-rex to finish the job. The warblade holds his own most of the way but in the end he falls too.

A lot of crap followed that where I handled the situation poorly but its not important to the issue at hand, which is as follows. My party is dead, like dead dead and they all know it. But because we all feel it was really weak we've decided we want them to continue playing their characters. So now I need to come up with a believable situation that has them being resurrected and returned to a playable status and I'm coming up blank.

I'd really like the situation they find themselves in upon their return to the land of the living to be "complicated", such as them being indebted to a power they'd rather not be or have their resurrection be complicated in some way or something along those lines.

Anyone have any idea's for a fellow gamer?